Preparation

A really good blended bagged Darjeeling. Makes excellent iced tea. Does not get bitter. Sharp and snappy with some muscatel and astringency. Much better than many alleged Darjeelings on the supermarket shelves. (Twinings, I’m glaring at you.) Utterly dependable. One of my go-to teas.

Preparation

I keep steeping this too long to get more spiciness and end up instead with bitter Assam and a few bits of cardamom. The anise ruins it for me — I strongly dislike anise. Otherwise a bland chai. Expensive. Not sure this one is worth the retail price, though other Numi Teas definitely are.

I like Stash’s Earl Grey, too, though their Double Bergamot knocks me over. I like Twinings Earl Grey least, finding it smells like furniture polish. I once drank a tin of it just for the sake of collecting the tin. Blech. Never again.

Have you tried the Tazo Earl Grey (ordinary bag, not full leaf)?
I do not like Earl Grey teas as a rule most of the time, but the quality of the bergamot in that one is — to me — unsurpassed. It’s more floral than perfumey. Very sophisticated and lovely.

Only the full leaf, and that was steeped in milk in what Starbucks calls a London Fog, which I kinda liked, but would have liked a lot more if the tea had been steeped in a bit of boiling water first. I’ll look for the Tazo EG next time I’m missing his Earlship. Thanks.

@ Beckara: Yes, Twining’s Lady Grey is lovely, but one of those that I’m so rarely in the mood for that I don’t keep it in my stash. I do have a small bit of a blend called Baroness Grey from a local teashop, and that’s lovely, too. I’ve been working on a blend with Baroness Grey, a first-flush Darjeeling, and some smoky Caravan. Not there yet.